Pachucos were Mexican American youths who developed their own subculture during the 1930s and 1940s in the Southwestern United States. They wore distinctive clothes (such as Zoot Suits) and spoke their own dialect (Caló). Due to their double-marginalization stemming from their youth and ethnicity, there has always been a close association and cultural cross-pollination between the Pachuco subculture and the gang subculture. For this reason, many members of the predominant (Anglo) culture assumed that anyone dressed in pachuho was a gang member. They would shoot people. For the Mexican American Zoot Suit subculure, see Pachuco. ... The ethnonym Mexican-American describes United States citizens of Mexican ancestry (14 million in 2003) and Mexican citizens who reside in the US (10 million in 2003). ... In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a set of people with a set of behaviors and beliefs, culture, which could be distinct or hidden, that differentiate them from the larger culture to which they belong. ... Regional definitions vary from source to source. ... A soldier inspecting zoot suits in Washington D.C. in 1942 Men in zoot suits A zoot suit was a style of clothing first popularized by young African Americans, Filipino Americans, Italian Americans, and Mexican Americans in the late 1930s and 1940s [1][2][3][4][5]. Today, a zoot... This article is about the Chicano idiom. ... A gang is a group of individuals who share a common identity and, in current usage, engage in illegal activities. ... Look up anglo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Origin

The term Pachuco was started from mexican slaves in east Los Angeles. The leader of the gang was named Kenny Bambino. An Italian bread maker, who helped the slaves become american citizens in the late 1930's. El Paso pachucos were later established by the late great Anthony Gonzales. There gang was called Spiderman-Nate Dogg united.

The pachuco subculture declined in the 1960s, evolving into the Chicano style. This style preserved some of the pachuco slang while adding a strong political element characteristic of the late 1960s in American life. The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... For other uses, see Chicano (disambiguation). ...

In the early 1970s, a recession and the increasingly violent nature of gang life resulted in an abandonment of anything that suggested dandyism. Accordingly, Mexican-American gangs adopted a uniform of T-shirts and khakis derived from prison uniforms, and the pachuco style died out. However, the zoot suit remains a popular choice of formal wear for urban and rural Latino youths in heavily ethnic neighborhoods. It is typically worn at a prom, or in some cases, at informal Latino university commencement ceremonies. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... Sporty Parisian dandies of the 1830s: a girdle was required to achieve this silhouette. ...

Pachucos called their slang caló (sometimes called "pachuquismo"), a unique argot that drew on the original Spanish Gypsy Caló, Mexican Spanish, the New Mexican dialect of Spanish, and American English, employing words and phrases creatively applied. To a large extent, caló went mainstream and is the last surviving vestige of the Pachuco, often used in the lexicon of some urban Latinos in the United States to this day. This article is about the Chicano idiom. ... Argot (French for slang) is primarily slang used by various groups, including but not limited to thieves and other criminals, to prevent outsiders from understanding their conversations. ... Caló may refer to: Caló (Chicano), argot or slang of Mexican American Spanish Caló (Spanish Romani), Spanish Romani, Spanish Roma language Caló is the name of: Miguel Caló This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... New Mexican Spanish is a variant or dialect of Spanish spoken in the United States, primarily in the northern part of the state of New Mexico and the southern part of the state of Colorado. ... For the Brazilian pop singer, see Latino (singer). ...

The same word "pachuco" is used in Costa Rica to define the Costarican slang. It nevertheless differs from the Mexican slang.

La Pachuca

The "Pachuca," the female counterpart of the Pachuco, had as strong an aesthetic sensibility as the male zoot suiter. The Pachuca's hairstyle tended to be a high "coif" (a more pronounced version of the typical hair style of the time), sometimes using hair grease. Her makeup was heavy, particularly the lipstick. The preferred color of clothing was black. One very loud version of the Pachuca look entailed wearing the masculine zoot suit, albeit with modifications to fit the female form. This was very subversive at the time because of long-held gender roles that dictated how a person should dress. Another variation included full, knee-length skirts with the standard zoot suit finger-tip jacket. Sometimes, she donned the standard heavy gold pocket chain. A bagpiper in Scottish military clan-uniform. ...

This style was associated with gang membership, gang activity. The idea of gang membership and gang activity came from the Zoot Suit Riots that took place mainly in Southern California. The negative image of the male zoot suiter as a "violent gangster" naturally extended to the Pachuca as well. The promiscuous image came from contravening the traditional "see and be seen" fashion aesthetic — the Pachuca's high public visibility during a time when the "good" [minority] woman belonged in the home was seen in a scandalous light. Zoot Suit riots, June 1943 For the swing album by Cherry Poppin Daddies, see Zoot Suit Riot (album) The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of riots that erupted in Los Angeles, California during World War II, between sailors and soldiers stationed in the city and Mexican American youths, who... This article is about the region of Southern California. ...

The Pachuca's challenge to the dominant perception of femininity came during the period between the advent of women's suffrage in 1920 and the upsurge in feminist activism of the 1960s and 1970s. The term womens suffrage refers to an economic and political reform movement aimed at extending suffrage — the right to vote — to women. ... Feminists redirects here. ...

See also

• Cholo
• Vato

For the Choloa language, see Emberá languages. ... Look up Vato in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

References

• Barker, George Carpenter. Pachuco: an American-Spanish argot and its social functions in Tucson, Arizona. University of Arizona Press, 1950.
• Cummings, Laura L. "Cloth-Wrapped People, Trouble, and Power: Pachuco Culture in the Greater Southwest" In, Journal of the Southwest, 45 (Autumn 2003).
• Fuentes, Dagoberto and José A. López. Barrio Language Dictionary. La Puente: El Barrio Publications, 1974. ]
• Madrid Barela, A. In Search of the Authentic Pachuco. An Interpretive Essay, Part I. Aztlan, Spring, 4(1), 31 60. 1973.
• Paz, Octavio, translated by Lysander Kemp. "The Pachuco and Other Extremes" in The Labyrinth of Solitude. Grove Press, Inc., 1961; originally published in Spanish by Cuadernos Americanos, Mexico, 1950.
• Ramirez, Catherine Sue Crimes of Fashion: The Pachuca and Chicana Style Politics. Meridians Vol. 2, No. 2 (2002): 1-35.
• Sánchez-Tranquilino, M. "The Pachuco’s Flayed Hide: Mobility, Identity, and Buenas Garras" In J. Tagg - Cultural Studies, New York: Routledge, 1992

Serrano, Rodolfo G. "Dictionary Of Pachuco Terms". California State University, 1979. Motto: Where the Past Meets the Future Location of La Puente in Los Angeles County, California Coordinates: , Country United States of America State California County Los Angeles Incorporated (city) 1956-08-01 [2] Government  - Mayor Louis R. Perez [1] Area  - City  3. ... Octavio Paz, Mexican writer, poet, diplomat, and 1990 Nobel Prize winner for literature Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...